[SatNews] NavigationArts has debuted its first military-based custom application, the…
…Airborne In-flight Monitoring System (AIMS) for iDirect Government Technologies (iGT). iGT provides secure and reliable satellite-based IP communications applications, including ISR, airborne, communications on the move and maritime solutions, that government and military organizations trust.
iGT engaged NavigationArts to create an application to view and manage satellite beam information on moving military aircraft. iGT required a transformative application that would communicate and command a number of satellite hardware components and display them in a manner that supports decision-making by a communications engineer and other military personnel.
“We are pleased to partner with NavigationArts as an integral part of the iGT AIMS product design team, leveraging expertise in intuitive software to develop next-generation airborne applications that incorporate a specialized graphical user interface and display windows for customer ease of use,” said John Ratigan, iGT President. “With NavigationArts’ team of developers on the task, we are able to enhance situational awareness to communications officers about their aircraft, thus aligning our AIMS solution with customers’ needs.”
NavigationArts created AIMS, software that communicates with the iDirect modem, as well as the Antenna Control Unit (ACU) to display the real-time position of aircraft and allow a user to quickly see when the aircraft will leave one satellite coverage footprint and enter another. With AIMS, an operator is able to quickly determine the position of the aircraft and whether or not a communications interruption might occur due to switching satellite footprints. AIMS allows operators to manually switch to an available network, or view a countdown timer before an automatic beam switch occurs, in order to prevent a lapse in satellite communication.
“While iGT is vigilantly focused on providing the best satellite communication products to support a diverse group of government operations both domestically and internationally, NavigationArts was dedicated to providing iGT with the best value by taking a user-centered approach and accomplishing complex functions with a simple, yet intuitive user interface,” said Leo Mullen, CEO at NavigationArts.
